The Eldest Brother
by Open Season
Summary: When the Southern Raiders attacked the Southern Water Tribe, something was different. Sokka and Katara weren't the only children of Hakoda and Kya. Maybe Katara wasn't the only waterbender in the South Pole anymore...
1. Chapter 1

Sokka and Katara were playing in the middle of the village when black snow began to fall. Knowing what it meant, the siblings shared a look.

"I'm going to find mom." Katara worriedly said to Sokka as she ran to their igloo. Sokka gathered the children that were still outside playing and told them to follow him and that they needed to hide. The warriors of the tribe rushed to fight the Southern Raiders who had invaded their home once more.

* * *

"Mom!" Hearing his little sister Katara yell, Koda woke up. He ran his hands through the dark brown hair that he wore in the same style as his father without the braids, wondering why Katara was yelling this early in the morning. He had snuck out last night to go penguin sledding and wanted to sleep in today. Getting up and looking into the room he heard the yell, he was surprised when he saw his mother talking to a fire nation soldier.

"Just let her go." Kya said while on her knees, defeated. "I'll give you the information you want."

"You heard your mother." Yon Rha tilted his head and sneered towards Katara, "Get out of here!"

Katara's eyes were watering and she was shaking. "Mom, I'm scared..."

"Go find your dad, sweetie." Kya looked and smiled at Katara. "I'll handle this." Katara looked into the Fire Nation soldier's eyes and ran to find her father.

Yon Rha turned back to face Kya. "Now tell me... who is it? Who's the waterbender?"

"There are no waterbenders here. The Fire Nation took them all away a long time ago."

"You're lying. My source says there's one waterbender left in the southern water tribe." He threateningly advanced on Kya. "We're not leaving until we find the waterbender!

Unable to think of any other options, she agreed. "If I tell you, do you promise to leave the rest of the village alone? Yon Rha simply nodded and waited for her response.

Utterly defeated, Kya looked down and acquiesced. "It's me. Take me as your prisoner."

"I'm afraid I'm not taking prisoners today." He said with an evil sneer, pulling his arm back to strike down the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe.

* * *

Koda watched fearfully as his mother told the man she was the waterbender he was looking for, knowing she was protecting Katara. He saw the firebender's arm pull back as he told Kya he wouldn't be taking any prisoners.

"No!" Koda screamed as he ran out, shoving his arms forward in a futile attempt to stop the man from killing his mother. His anger over the Fire Nation attacking their home and his need to protect his mother awakened something deep inside. Snow suddenly jumped up and encased the man as both Kya and Koda looked on in shock, as neither had known Koda was capable of waterbending. Surprise soon switched to fear as Yon Rha easily melted the snow encasing him and let the water drip off his body.

"Fool." He said to Kya with a smirk. "Lying to protect your son was admirable, too bad he's too stupid to stay hidden!" He yelled as flames came alive from his fists, headed straight for the 11 year old boy. Not fully understanding his newfound ability, all Koda managed to do was raise a small wall of snow before the fire made contact, sending snow everywhere and crashing him through the wall of the igloo leaving a large hole in his wake.

The captain chuckled at the child's failure. Clutching the sides of the hole, he calmly pushed himself through and gazed at the trail in the snow the boy's body had made that lead to a large pile against a nearby igloo. He began to slowly approach, savoring in the final extinction of the Southern Water Tribe waterbenders.

Still dazed from the blow, Koda found himself buried under a foot of snow. Remembering what he had done to the Fire Nation soldier, he was amazed. He was a waterbender! The only one in his entire tribe was Katara, and she wasn't able to do anything on the scale of what he did! Remembering Katara, he realized he and his family were still in danger. Shaking the snow off him, he stood tall.

A sick smile awaited him on Yon Rha's face as he laughed at him. "So your the last waterbender, and all you can do is toss snowballs around. You surprised me, but playtime is over now." Dropping into a fighting stance, he began to throw small fireballs at Koda. Prepared this time, he was able to avoid being hit by throwing up snow to block and dodging the bigger blasts.

The Fire Nation captain, annoyed the child was better than he originally thought, increased the power and frequency of his strikes. Koda was no longer able to fully block the stronger and more numerous fire blasts, and began to take small hits. Tiring quickly, Koda realized he needed to do something before he was killed. Having gotten the hang of his power, he ripped the snow out from under the raider, making him fall on his back as Koda took a few needed much moments of rest.

"Enough!" The man screamed as he lifted himself off the ground. Enraged, he threw a huge red-hot blast from both fists, launching Koda into the middle of his small village. Now burned and exhausted, he was unable to do anything but watch as the cruel soldier made his way towards him.

"Any last words, boy? You put up a much better fight than your people did!" He chuckled arrogantly. Barely conscious, Koda lifted his head. He saw the women and children of his tribe peeking out of their igloos, watching the fight. Disappointed by his people's weakness, and disgusted by his own, he dropped his head. The firebender raised his hand once  
more. Out of the corner of Koda's eye, he saw Sokka charge at the soldier and Koda froze.

"No! Sokka, get out of here!" Koda frantically hoped that for once Sokka would listen.

Growing increasingly tired of children trying to fight him, Yon Rha unleashed a flaming inferno bigger than anything he had yet demonstrated.

Horrified at what would happen to Sokka, time slowed down for Koda. Pushing himself to stand, he called all of the water from beneath the ice to save his little brother. Cracks appeared in front of Sokka as water burst through and completely absorbed the fire. Now entirely drained of energy, he could do nothing but watch as the soldier picked up Sokka by the collar and threw him down hard. He turned again towards Koda, a wicked gleam in his eye. Picking him up by the neck, the man looked him straight in the eye. "I've faced grown men with less fight in them than you kid. Pity you were born a waterbender." He said, drawing his hand back for the final blow.

But just before anything else could happen, a boomerang hit the man in the back of his head and he released Koda, falling into a heap on the ground.

Hakoda held his hand out as the boomerang returned to it. He quickly bound the man in rope before looking over his injured son. Katara, who had gone to warn their father, had returned just in time with him to save his eldest son before he had been killed. Kya, who had ran to Sokka when he was thrown, joined the group as they looked down at Koda in both worry and awe.

"Is he going to be alright dad?" Sokka asked while he sat down next to his older brother as Katara joined him.

"It doesn't look like he's in great shape, but he'll make it. If that display was anything to go by, your brother is going to be a great waterbender one day."

* * *

Momentarily forgotten when the worried family doted over their injured son and brother, Yon Rha regained consciousness and managed to burn his bindings before fleeing with the rest of the Southern Raiders.

* * *

Upon waking up, Koda saw his siblings beside him talking. He didn't get much chance to think before-

"I didn't know you could waterbend too Koda, why didn't you tell me?" Katara asked, pouting.

'I didn't know I could, until now." Koda replied, "Really!" he blushed as she didn't look convinced.

"Yeah, Yeah, mystical water powers are great, but did you see dad with his boomerang?" Sokka exclaimed with stars in his eyes. "He took out the big bad guy in one hit!" The entire family rolled their eyes at him.

Katara looked annoyed. "And what part of your brain thought it was a good idea to charge that "big bad guy" with nothing but hot air?"

Watching Sokka stumble trying to defend himself, Hakoda and Kya were just glad nothing worse had happened. "I guess there's your answer if you thought the kids would be troubled about this." He said chuckling.

"This is Sokka we are talking about, we should have known." Kya smiled. "But I'm worried about Koda, he hasn't said much since waking up."

Hakoda's grin lessened. "Don't worry, I'll talk to him." Approaching his children, he told the younger two to leave the room and let Koda rest. They protested, but Kya managed to shuffle them out.

"Now son, what you did was amazing. You protected your mother and your brother with all you had and more. But you could have been killed yourself! If you hadn't been able to waterbend, we might not be having this conversation."

"I know, dad." Koda somberly replied, but there was something else in his voice. "But I shouldn't have had to protect them! You're the chief! You're supposed to protect everybody, especially your family!" It was anger. His father had left every single woman and child at the mercy of the southern raider captain, completely defenseless! What kind of chief was he?

"Koda." His face was now hardened and full of regret. "I took the men to fight the raiders before they had a chance to enter the village for this exact reason. I had no idea one had snuck past me and it almost cost us everything. You saved your mother and your brother and I am so proud of you." He defended himself and showed a small smile at the end.

"Yeah, well... don't let it happen again, ok?" Koda weakly replied, still exhausted from the day's events.

"Of course not son," Hakoda said as they shared a look, "Now I have to keep Sokka away from my boomerang. He thinks it's a toy!" He exasperated. Ending the conversation with laughter, Hakoda left the room.

After his father left, Koda thought about Yon Rha, the Southern Raider captain that had strolled into his village and done as he pleased. 'Now that I know I can bend, I have to get better. If the Fire Nation shows up again, I won't be useless! I'll protect everyone! I won't let Sokka or Katara get hurt again.' He thought with determination before falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Waking up, Koda was surprised to see his father leaning in the doorway. Seeing his son awake, Hakoda came into the room.

"Good morning. Son, your mother and I talked about it last night, and we think you should have a choice. In the northern water tribe, there is a master waterbender who could teach you." He said.

Koda couldn't believe it. "You would let me go alone?"

"Of course son. There isn't anyone in the South Pole anymore who could teach you. We've thought about sending Katara when she got older, but she's too young right now and the Northern Water Tribe has certain... customs that are much different from our own." Hakoda told him, feeling bad for the poor soul who would try to deny Katara in the future.

"That would be great! I'd be able to learn so much better with a teacher!" Koda rambled on excitedly. It made Hakoda happy seeing his son like this, he had seemed much more solemn before.

"But wait." Koda stopped talking and looked at his father. "What about the village?"

"What about the village?" His father asked, confused.

"The fire nation came here to get the last waterbender, I heard the soldier say that to mom. Since they didn't get Katara or me, won't they just come back and try again?"

Hakoda nodded, surprised his son thought that far ahead. "Yes, I'm sure they will. That's why we sent a message to our brothers in the north requesting shelter for the entire tribe until it's safe to return, along with also informing them of your arrival. Master Pakku is strict, but I'm sure he will agree to teach you.

Sitting up immediately, he asked, "How soon can I leave?"

His father smiled, he had expected that question. "I figured you'd be too excited to not want to go right away, so I asked Bato if he could take you tonight, and he said yes." Hakoda told his son and turned to leave. "You should pack your things and spend some time with your siblings. You'll be going on ahead of us and it might be a while before you see everyone again." Having said what he needed to, he went to inform the tribe of their possible move to the North Pole.

* * *

Finding Sokka and Katara nearby playing with the other children, he told them of the plan.

"Why are you leaving now? Can't you just wait until we all can go together?" Sokka pleaded.

"What? You get to go learn waterbending and I don't?" Katara whined. "That's so unfair! I could bend before you!"

"Dad said that you could when you're older, and maybe you could but can you do this?" Koda asked her, encasing his siblings in white powder until two snowmen had replaced them. One of the littler children even gave Sokka a hat, giggling.

"Why did I get dragged into this?" Sokka moaned. The children then all started laughing and he groaned about mean brothers and life being unfair.

"Sorry Sokka, I really haven't been a good brother lately, have I?" A sad smile on Koda's face.

"What? Of course you have! I was just being sarcastic!" Sokka avidly defended while Katara animatedly nodded.

"Yeah Koda, you're a great big brother!" She added.

Sokka couldn't understand why he was saying that. "Why would you think you're not?"

"...Sokka, you were almost killed by that firebender yesterday and all I could do was throw snow at him. If he had chosen to do more than throw you to the ground, I would have been able to nothing but watch. I'm your big brother, I'm supposed to protect you." Looking to the ground clenching his fists, it was clear he meant every word he said.

Neither Sokka nor Katara could believe what they were hearing. "What? You're only 2 years older than me! There's no way you could've beaten that guy! Even though boomerangs are awesome, even I don't believe dad could have taken that guy out that easily if you hadn't distracted him. When that fireball was headed straight for me, I thought I was done. You saved my life Koda. Not dad, not dumb luck, you did!" Sokka explained, fist raised.

"Sokka's right for once, you were amazing. I wasn't there, but the whole tribe tells the story like you were a master waterbender! They say you caused a huge geyser of water to protect Sokka even when you were exhausted and were hit multiple times! I can barely move water back and forth!"

"Thank you. Hey! For once?" Sokka wasn't sure how to respond.

Placing his hands on each of their heads, he smiled, a single tear falling from each eye. "You guys are the best. I'll miss you, so get to the North Pole quick, ok?"

"Of course!" Sokka/Katara said, happy their brother wasn't sad anymore.

Lifting his hands off their heads, Koda said, "Now I still have a few hours until Bato and I leave. How about we practice some waterbending, Katara? Afterwords Sokka I can teach you how to throw a boomerang."

"Awesome!" The siblings cheered and Katara grabbed Koda's hand, rushing off to spend time with her brother before he had to leave.

* * *

"Now Katara, I noticed when bending snow it was a little different than bending just water. When bending snow, you need to focus on the physical aspect of it, making it solid and unmoving. Then to turn it back into water, think about it being liquid and flowing." He demonstrated by grabbing a handful of snow, concentrating for a few seconds, and turning it into water. "I'm not very good yet because I've only been a waterbender for a day," He laughed, "But I think I'm explaining it right. Now you try."

"That doesn't sound too hard." Grabbing a handful of snow, Katara imagined it turning to water and dripping through her hands. She thought about it flowing down her hand and falling to the ground. Her feet suddenly felt cold and hearing Koda laugh, she stopped. "What?" She pouted.

Still laughing, he pointed to her feet. "Look down."

Doing so, she noticed she was standing in a small puddle. "Ahh! Cold!" Jumping out of it, she glared at her older brother. "Not funny!" Noticing the snow in her hand was still snow, she was frustrated. "What am I doing wrong?"

"It's all about control. But, it must be hard seeing an amazing waterbender do something that you can't." Showing off, he melted the snow in his hands rather quickly, an arrogant smirk on his face. "I guess I'm just better than you." Koda said, turning to leave with an exaggerated shrug, knowing his overly competitive sister wouldn't let it slide.

Glaring at his back, then smiling looking down at the snow in her hands. 'I'll show him. Next time he sees me I'll be a way better waterbender!'

Looking back and noticing her complete attention on the melting snow in her hands, Koda was proud. He couldn't wait to have a teacher of his own.

* * *

"I didn't know you knew how to use a boomerang Koda." Sokka said, having never seen him throw one.

Koda smiled. "I don't."

Sokka was confused. "Then why do you have one?"

His grin even wider, Koda repeated himself. "I don't."

Sokka was definitely very confused now. "Then why did you say you would teach me how to use one? And why are we going back to our house?"

Cheekily smiling back at his little brother, Koda said, "I said I don't own a boomerang, I didn't say I don't know where to get one. And who says we can't learn together?"

Finally understanding, Sokka gave a grin of his own. "I always knew we were meant to be brothers."

* * *

Thankfully only a few bruises later, the brothers returned home to find Hakoda waiting for them. Gulping, they decided to take their punishment like men. Hakoda simply held out his hand, and Koda returned the boomerang.

"It was my idea dad, I'm sorry." Koda said, head down. He didn't want Sokka to get into trouble for this.

"I was a kid too you know." Hakoda looked down at them with a straight face. Noticing their downcast looks, he grinned. "Just this once, I won't tell your mother." He held both hands out and got two high fives in return. "Now Koda, Bato's all ready to go and some people are here to send you off." Joining his father on the way to the docks, he couldn't wait to head out.

Seeing the whole tribe down by the water, he smiled. "Thank you everyone! I'll see you at the North Pole!" As everyone waved him goodbye, he ran towards Bato who was finishing loading the rest of the supplies on board the small boat. Raising the sails, Bato gave him a wide grin. "You ready to go learn waterbending?"

Looking back at the Southern Water Tribe, his tribe, he knew the answer. "I was born ready. Let's go!"


	3. Chapter 3

Seeing the Southern Water Tribe become a dot on the horizon, Koda realized he had never been this far from home. He wondered just how different the Northern Water Tribe was in comparison. Bato saw Koda just sitting in the boat thinking, and figured he could use this time to get a head start on his training. Reaching over the side of the boat, he splashed water towards him with an oar. Koda was so absorbed in his thoughts he didn't notice until he was soaked head to toe.

"Just because I'm not a waterbender, doesn't mean I can't teach you a thing or two. Lesson one; never let your guard down." Glaring at his laughing companion, Koda focused on the water in his clothes, forming it into a rough sphere of floating liquid right above Bato's head. Smirking, he watched Bato gulp and look up. Letting it drop onto Bato's head, his father's best friend was instantly drenched. Bato tried to shake it off. "Fine. Lesson two; dodge!" Making it a training game of who could stay the driest, the two took it very seriously. After getting splashed in the face for the fifth time in a row, Bato started to rethink his decision.

Koda however, was greatly enjoying himself. "Thank you for your wise teachings. I have learned much, Master Bato." He bowed for extra effect.

Hands on his hips, Bato shook his head and sighed. "I'm starting to regret doing this."

* * *

After a week on the ocean, the hungry travelers had to stop in the Earth Kingdom to stock up on food. After lowering the sails and tying their boat to the dock, they went to look through the market. Bato told his younger companion he could have a look around while he bought supplies and to return to the boat in a couple of hours. Happy to stretch his legs, Koda wandered through the small Earth Kingdom village. Everything he saw was new to him, and he realized just how sheltered both he and the Southern Water Tribe was from the world. There was nowhere near the variety of things this village had for sale back at his home. And there were so many people! His entire tribe had less people than this one town! Of course Koda had read about the other nations, but experiencing it in person was something else. He was definitely glad he chose to explore.

"Watch it, kid." Roughly pushing past him, a fire nation soldier continued walking through town with his partner. Seeing them throw an old man to the ground further up the road, his good mood was ruined. 'I didn't know they were here too.' He thought. 'It seems they make life difficult no matter where they are.' Taking another look around him, he could see the signs. The people of the village seemed tense, and nobody was willing to help the old man that struggled to stand. Shaking his head at the villagers, he was reminded of not too long ago when no one had helped him against the fire nation. Walking to the fallen man and helping him to his feet after glaring at the people watching, Koda received a quiet "Thank you." in return.

Noticing the boy's gaze directed at the surrounding people, the old man shook his head. "Don't think too poorly of them son. Everyone's had it rough since the fire nation came and took over our mine. Most of the people fear for their families, and don't want to risk putting them in danger."

Still disappointed that they didn't even try to help him up, he scoffed. "Why don't you kick them out? You must outnumber them fifteen to one!"

The old man shook his head. "Maybe we could, but more would come. It's easier to try and ignore them than to go looking for trouble." He said as he began to walk away.

Seeing the fire nation getting its way because these people were to afraid to stand up for themselves made him furious. Koda ran to catch up to the man. "Try to avoid getting in trouble? They went looking for trouble by taking over your mine and invading your home! How could you stand back and do nothing?" Koda stumbled into the man that had suddenly stopped walking. He turned to face Koda with a hard expression.

"We did try, when the fire nation first came here. The few earthbenders and capable warriors that lived here put up a good fight and managed to send them packing. A few weeks later, twice as many soldiers came and we didn't stand a chance. The fire nation took over the mine and made them all their prisoners, including my son." He had to stop, as his tears had started to fall. "My son Kazuo led them into battle. He was such a brave man, It's been months since I last saw him." Wiping away the tears, he continued. "We figure if the fire nation bothered to take prisoners they must have kept them alive to work the mine, but  
no one has the courage or the strength to try and rescue them. All we can do is pray that they can hold out and hope that everything will turn out alright."

Feeling slightly ashamed for assuming they didn't try to defend their home, Koda was still upset. "I get that you failed the first time, but how can you just expect everything will turn out alright if you have hope?"

"You wouldn't understand, you're too young boy. It'd be best if you left before you got into trouble with the Fire Nation and made things harder for us."

Clenching his fists, he turned away from the old man. "I wouldn't understand? You wouldn't know this, but just a week ago the fire nation attacked my village. While the warriors were out fighting them, one man managed to get into my house. If I had done nothing but hope he would leave, hope everything would turn out alright, my mother wouldn't be alive right now. Maybe my little brother would be dead, too! If you don't take action, nothing will change! You have to stand up for yourselves!"

Watching the young man storm off, Taro realized he was right. How could they ever hope for their situation to change if they weren't willing to make that change themselves? His people had put up with the Fire Nation for so long they had begun to think being pushed around by them was just part of life now. Impassioned by the foreigner that was wise beyond his years, he set off to the center of town. Kazuo and the rest of the prisoners had probably thought the same way all this time, hoping someone would come to rescue them. Taro would make sure they were saved. He would be his son's hope.

* * *

The town square was a large paved open area surrounded by houses with a well in the middle, typical of earth kingdom villages. Seeing his people quickly walking to their destination, clutching their children close, he realized that his home had become a shadow of its former self. They deserved to feel safe in their own home. More determined to do something about it now more than ever, he shouted for them to listen.

* * *

After having fully explored the village, Koda saw lots of people gathering at the town square. Deciding to check out what was going on before returning to Bato, he made his way to the crowd. Squeezing to the front, he couldn't believe who was speaking. The old man who had seemed intent on doing nothing earlier was now fervently trying to get his people to listen! Hearing him speak about how they needed to rise up and make a difference themselves, he couldn't believe the seemingly defeated man had taken his words to heart. There was a fire in his eyes that had been missing just a few hours ago. But for all his enthusiasm, it seemed that the townspeople couldn't be convinced.

"What about our families?" A man with a little girl sitting on his shoulders asked.

An older woman spoke. "We already pay heavy taxes to them, who knows how much worse things will be for us if we try and fight?"

The rest of the crowd, seemingly agreeing, slowly began to shake their heads and leave until only Koda and one other man remained.

"I'm sorry Taro, but they have a point. I worry for my family still held captive in the mine every day, but I just don't have the strength to fight anymore." Putting his hand on Taro's shoulder, he walked away.

Koda shook his head. It seemed there was no helping some people. Taro spotted the young foreigner shaking his head.

"I don't blame them... all of our fighters and a lot of their families are captured, I shouldn't have expected them to listen. It was hypocritical for me to ask them to risk their lives while I haven't been willing to do the same."

"Isn't there anyone left here still willing to stand up to the Fire Nation?"

Taro thought for a moment. "Perhaps there is one. Her mother might not like it, but my granddaughter would be more than willing to help. She's a strong earthbender for her age, and has been itching to do something to help rescue her father since he was captured." Leading Koda back to his home, Taro told him he would be staying for dinner and there would be no exceptions. Hungry after walking for hours, Koda didn't try to argue. Entering the modest Earth Kingdom home, he was welcomed by Taro's stepdaughter, a middle aged woman named Kumi.

"The food should be done in a few minutes Taro. Koda, do you think you can tell my daughter to come inside? She should be in the backyard practicing." Kumi then returned to the kitchen to finish preparing the food. Seeing as it wasn't a big deal, he agreed. Before he could open the door however, Taro pulled him aside.

"I know you saw that man who stayed longer than the others back at the town square. He may not be willing to openly fight the Fire Nation, but if you need any other help I am sure he would be glad to provide it. Do you know of anything you might need?"

"I would need water somewhere around the mine. Without it, I'm just an ordinary kid."

Taro gave the widest smile he had in months. "Koda, you're anything but ordinary."

Thanking the old man, Koda went out the back door and was surprised at what he saw. Instead of the regular grassy yard he had expected, it was just bare earth and rocks of all sizes scattered all over the place. Seeing a large one flying right at him, Koda ducked backwards and watched it sail inches away from his face. A girl with dark brown hair in a ponytail was in a stance, and when she shifted her feet, his lower body was instantly encased in stone.

"What were you doing in my house?!" She yelled.

"I was just coming to get you! Your grandfather invited me for dinner and your mom said it's ready!" Koda yelled, wondering why the girl was so violent.

"Hmph." Grunting, the girl let the stone fall to the ground, releasing him. Crossing her arms, she continued. "And what kind of reaction time was that? If i had been serious, you would have be splattered all over my backyard right now!"

Incredulous that she was insulting him instead of apologizing, he yelled, "Well sorry I didn't expect a girl to try to kill me the second I walked out the door!"

Getting in Koda's face the second he was done talking, "Oh, so just because I'm a girl you didn't think I was a threat?"

"What?!"

* * *

Watching the two kids through the window of the kitchen, the adults laughed.

"Looks like they're friends already. Who knew all it would take for Seiko to find a friend would be to almost kill him?" Kumi was glad her daughter had someone to talk to her age, even if it was only for a few hours. Few people could deal with Seiko's temper, and it only got worse once the Fire Nation attacked. Chuckling to himself, Taro opened the window and told the kids to come eat.

* * *

Taro started the conversation, sitting across from Koda with Kumi and Seiko at his sides. "Koda, how old are you?"

Swallowing his food, he answered, "I'm eleven, why?"

"I just wanted to hear the tale of how you managed to beat a firebender one on one at such a young age." Taro said, giving the boy a small smile while Seiko's eyes widened at that information.

Koda's cheeks turned slightly red. "Well... I didn't exactly beat him alone." Taro beckoned for him to continue. "When I said my mother almost died, that was the truth. When the firebender came into our house, right before he was about to kill my mother, I unlocked my waterbending in order to save her. Having just gained my bending, I had no idea how to properly use it. At first it was just me barely blocking his attacks, desperately trying to stay alive. Then I got hit a few times, and right before he was able to land the final blow my father took him out with a boomerang to the back of the head."

"I can't think of a better reason to unlock your bending powers. Seiko here could earthbend when she was just seven years old! And now, at age twelve, she is better than most people twice her age. It just came naturally to her while she was playing outside one day. Everyone's story is different."

Seiko smirked, sticking her tongue out at Koda. "Yep, I've just always been great."

Trying to ignore her, Koda continued talking to Taro. "My sister first started to waterbend just last year when she was seven too, and we are the only waterbenders in our entire tribe."

"Is that why you left home, to find a teacher?" Kumi asked.

"Yes, my father's friend Bato is taking me to the North Pole to find a teacher. He says there is a master waterbender there who might be willing to teach me."

"Well we wish you luck in your search." Kumi politely responded. After that, everything was mostly small talk. Once everyone had finished eating, Koda politely thanked both Kumi and Taro while excusing himself. Also getting up, Seiko said she'd walk him out.

As soon as they got outside, Seiko put her hands on her hips and was blunt as ever. "Alright, tell me why grandpa really brought you here. I doubt it was just for you to tell your life story over dinner."

Not wanting to beat around the bush, Koda came right out and said it. "Seiko, I wanted to ask you to help me free the prisoners in the mine. Taro told me you've wanted to save your dad ever since he was captured, but that your mom wouldn't let you go."

"Of course I want to save my dad! But even I know I'm not good enough to face all the firebenders they have guarding the place alone yet, that's why I've been training hard. I'm so much better than I was a when he was taken, but I still can't do it alone."

"Then its perfect! We can save your dad and the villagers together!" Koda thought, in his mind all the pieces were falling into place.

"That sounds great and all, but how are you supposed to help? Didn't you say you've only been a waterbender for a week?" She said completely unconvinced.

The pieces then came crumbling apart. Unable to deny the claim, Koda had to say yes. "I know I'm no master." He admitted. "But I was surrounded by nothing but water for a whole week, doing nothing but practicing my bending. I've always been a quick learner, and I know I'm a lot better than you'd think!"

"Even if you're as good as you say, how is a waterbender supposed to do anything when we're in the middle of the earth?" Seiko asked, still skeptical Koda would do anything other than get in her way.

"There's a lot of water under the earth, you know. I'm positive if we can get close enough to the mine, I would be able to tell if there was any around. Plus, Taro said he was sure he could convince one of his old friends to get some water near the entrance so I'm not completely defenseless before we go down." Koda could tell she still wasn't convinced. "Come on! What's the worst thing that could happen?"

"Well there's imprisonment for one. A life of hard labor doesn't sound too appealing either." Rolling her eyes, Seiko halfheartedly agreed. "Fine. On one condition, you do whatever I say when we get there."

"Sure."

* * *

The full moon illuminated the road to the mine, so Seiko and Koda stuck to the trees along the road. Not wasting any time, the duo found the barrel of water that Taro's friend had left for the waterbender hidden behind a bush, about 100 feet from the mine. Seiko sat behind it and peered out for a few minutes, seeing two firebenders guarding the entrance and another two patrolling the road with torches.

"Alright, here's the plan. We'll get the two men patrolling when they're the furthest away from the mine. You come up from the road and distract them, and I'll sneak up on the two from within the trees. You use your water magic to put on a show, and while they're busy trying to fry you I'll bury them up to their heads in earth. Then, you need to freeze their mouths shut. That way, they won't be able to yell or run for help. Sound good?

"You know at first I wasn't sure about the "Do whatever I say" part, but this is actually a good plan. I'm surprised." Koda teased.

Smiling wickedly, Seiko made Koda feel slightly scared. "What, you didn't think this was the first time I antagonized the Fire Nation, did you?"

* * *

Everything went exactly as Seiko planned, she was even surprised at the speed and efficiency of Koda's bending, and for some reason, it looked like he was too. She pushed the thought away, they still had a lot of work to do. Going back to the trees in front of the entrance, they were back where they started, staring at the two guards at the entrance to the mine. "Now for the hard part. We need to sneak past these guards up here to get to the collapsed tunnel. We can't knock them out, or someone will notice for sure. Any ideas?"

Thinking for a minute, Koda was able to come up with something. "What if there was a mudslide? They'd have to abandon their post then. It would even draw out more of the soldiers inside, making it easier for us break everyone out."

Seiko believed that was possible, but there was one problem. "That could work, but mudslides don't happen often around here, and it hasn't rained in days."

Smirking, Koda answered her. "Who needs rain when you've got a waterbender?"

* * *

Positioning themselves on top of hill the mine was dug into, the benders assumed their stances. Koda had brought the barrel with by bending the water inside, and it was surprisingly easy. Breaking open the top, he let it saturate the earth around them. Seiko, noticing her queue, started softening the earth beneath them. Moving together in harmony, the rough and straightforward stances of her earthbending somehow flowed into the fluid and graceful stances of his waterbending. The duo controlled their respective elements until they bonded as one, and, still in sync, the duo began shifting the mud downhill until it all began to move on its own. Growing louder the further down it went, the mudslide picked up more earth on the way until it dropped from the hill and crashed over the side, covering the mine's entrance completely. Hearing shouts, they didn't waste a second rushing to the old tunnel with Seiko leading the way. Upon reaching it, she slid into an earthbending stance but then began to panic. Seeing her acting like this made Koda nervous in more ways than one.

"I didn't realize that this much of the tunnel had collapsed. I don't know if I can bend this much earth at a time, Koda." She said wide eyed, looking to him for help.

Hearing more shouts to their left from inside of the main tunnel only 20 feet away, they had to hurry. "No, you can do this. You have too!" He tried encouraging her.

"I just can't! There's too much!" Still trying to move the rocks, her body was shaking and she still couldn't make them budge.

"YOU CAN! Your dad is so close Seiko! He's right in there, counting on you to rescue him!" Raising his voice as loud as possible without giving away their position, he looked straight into Seiko's uncharacteristically desperate eyes.

Seiko shifted her feet into an even lower stance and heaved as slowly the rocks shifted, allowing a small passage through. "Quickly Koda, I can't hold this much longer!" He swiftly raced through the small crack, looking back for Seiko to do the same. Loosening her stance, she was suddenly launched forward by a column of earth beneath her, barely making it inside before the entrance collapsed on itself. At the end of her short flight, she realized she hadn't landed on the rough stone she was expecting. In fact, it was much warmer and softer. Opening her eyes, Seiko realized she had landed in Koda's arms, staring into his blue eyes with her own brown ones illuminated by the little moonlight that fell from the cracks in the rubble. Both quickly coughed and jumped up, putting what just happened aside to think about later.

"Thanks." She awkwardly said.

"Yep. Well, lead on then." Koda replied, trying to get Seiko's brown eyes out of his head.

Appreciating the change of subject, Seiko followed the wall with her hands with Koda right behind her. The tunnel was narrow and had an increasingly downward slope the further they went. The tunnel diverged a few times along the way, but Seiko was sure the right path was straight forward. Seeing faint light up ahead, they began to run towards it. The tunnel ended on a ledge roughly thirty feet above a huge cavern with massive stalactites hanging from the ceiling. From the ledge they were able to see many people in dull and tattered earth kingdom clothes swinging pickaxes at rock with their feet shackled to heavy metal balls. Seeing her father nearly right under them, Seiko would have shouted to him had Koda not put his hand over her mouth. Nodding her thanks, they looked down again and noticed at least six fire nation guards scattered around carefully observing the prisoners. Four were talking to each other near the exit.

Seiko looked back at Koda. "Can you feel any water here?"

"I haven't tried yet, let me see." Closing his eyes, Koda gave his complete concentration to the task. Reaching out for something to bend, Koda focused the hardest he ever had. Feeling a distant pull, he knew he had found it. "Yes! There's a small amount right underneath them." Pointing to the group of four fire nation soldiers by the exit tunnel. "But it's under a thick layer of stone. I can't bring it to the surface."

"That shouldn't be too hard to fix. If I open up the earth beneath them, you should be able to freeze those four, right?" Seeing him nod, she continued. "Good, then that's what we're going to do. Once those four are frozen, I'm going to smash the shackles on my father and the other villagers. I'm going to need you to cover me. You ready?" Koda nodded his agreement. "Alright, let's go!" Seiko bent the wall of the cave into a smooth slope and slid down the wall with Koda following close behind. Using the guards confusion to their advantage, Seiko Opened up the earth around the soldiers by the tunnel with Koda making the water leap up and freeze them solid. The remaining six guards quickly retaliated, sending multiple fire streams towards them with Koda blocking using the underground stream. Meanwhile, Seiko was hugging her father.

"Seiko! What are you doing? You have to get out of here!" Despite the circumstances, Kazuo was ecstatic at seeing his daughter again and couldn't stop himself from embracing her.

"I'm here to save you, obviously." They both had to duck as a large fireball zoomed overhead.

The frantic father tried to make her understand. "You need to leave. The only reason I've been able to go on was knowing you and your mother were safe. Many of the others can hardly walk anymore. Please, Seiko, take your friend and go before it's too late!"

A water wall turned incoming fire into steam, while Seiko smashed the chain binding Kazuo. "It's already too late, dad. Now, are you going to help me or not?"

Kazuo was frustrated she wouldn't listen but glad she hadn't changed in his time away. Having little choice, he rushed to help his daughter in freeing everyone held captive. "I suppose you aren't really giving me a choice. Now let's help your boyfriend."

"Dad! He's not- Koda!" Seeing Koda beat up and trying to get up off the ground, Seiko realized the last of his water had been evaporated protecting her from another firebender's blast. She watched two soldiers enter parallel stances and sent a huge combined stream of fire straight at him. They locked eyes for a moment and he smiled as the explosion sent rocks shattering everywhere.

* * *

Having to completely focus on the battle in front of him, Koda struggled to completely protect Seiko at the same time. Three of the original six firebenders decided to stay and fight him while the other half tried to prevent the prisoners from breaking free. The three firebender's took turns attacking, and they weren't messing around. Barely raising walls of water and ice in time to protect himself from the coordinated attack, Koda honestly had no idea how his bending was keeping him alive. The soldiers kept him on the defensive by taking turns launching blasts, never giving Koda time to do anything more than block their attacks. The steam from the clashing elements permeated the air around them. Soon one man tried to create an opening by aiming at Seiko. Whenever Koda went to shield her he was left wide open, unable to fully protect himself. He could no longer keep up the three much more experienced men. Soon he was littered with burns and bruises from the fight. Not giving up, he tried to take out the soldier who kept targeting Seiko. Koda sent a water whip to pull his legs out from under him, but flinched and fell to his knees halfway through the motions. 'Come on!' Koda pushed himself to slowly stand through the pain. Seeing the opening, the firebenders didn't hold back. Crying out and falling to the ground, Koda put out the fire on his now heavily burned right leg. Feeling he was near his limit, he saw another blast going straight for Seiko. Sending the last of his water to shield her, Koda saw a massive combined blaze coming from the other two firebenders out of the corner of his eye. He locked eyes with his new friend, seeing her reunited with her father at last, and smiled.

* * *

Opening his eyes, Koda realized he was staring at a demolished wall of earth. He saw Seiko and her father running over to him. They jumped over him and upon landing made the ground ripple, creating waves of earth knocking the three firebenders out. Seiko helped him to his feet.

"Are you alright?" Looking at his leg, she tried to cheer him up. "I've got a burning question for you, can you keep going?"

Cringing at the pain of both his leg and the joke, Koda stood and gave her a weak grin. "Of course, I'm all warmed up."

Kazuo was happy listening to Seiko make jokes with her friend. He didn't think he would ever get to see her laugh again. His smile was gone in an instant when he saw more Fire Nation Soldiers flooding into the mine. Thinking quickly, Kazuo made stairs rise up out of the ground leading up to the tunnel his daughter had arrived from. He turned to the villagers who had just knocked out the remaining three firebenders. "Everyone you need to leave! Follow my daughter, she will show you the way out." The firebenders began to launch blasts while Kazuo and the few weakened earthbenders made walls to protect them.

Seiko was outraged. "What?! There's no way I'm leaving you behind dad!"

"There isn't time! Everyone's counting on you to get them out of here. I have to do this." He pointed at Koda still leaning heavily on Seiko for support. "Your friend isn't going to be able to make it out of here alone either, you have to help him." Kazuo didn't leave any room for argument. Running forward, he jumped up and stomped the ground upon landing, creating large cracks that raced to the ceiling. Upon reaching it the mine shuddered as stalactites fell, blocking the main exit as soldiers jumped away to avoid being crushed. More fell behind him, preventing his daughter from interfering.

Clutching them, tears fell from her eyes as she cried for her father to change his mind. "The only reason I did this was so I could save you! If you don't come home this was all pointless! Come with us!"

"I'm sorry I put you through this Seiko. Tell your mother I love her and that I'm sorry I won't be able to see her again. Don't give your mom too much trouble when I'm gone." Kazuo gave his daughter one last smile and turned to face the Fire Nation.

'You're a strong girl... I only hope you can forgive me.' He thought, concentrating deeply and assuming the widest stance he could. Looking over his shoulder, he saw everyone but his daughter had left, leaving Seiko's friend trying to drag her away with little luck. The next moment they were launched through the air right into the tunnel above, courtesy of him earthbending the ground beneath them. Sealing the tunnel shut, he lowered the walls protecting him from the enemies' bending.

A man he assumed was the captain stepped forward. "So now what? They've escaped, but you realize nothing is stopping us from putting them right back in here. You've accomplished nothing!" A chorus of laughter followed, soldiers grabbing their stomachs and pointing at him. When it stopped, the captain spoke again. "Just give up. Here, put that back on and we can forget this ever happened." He motioned towards a chain sitting next to him. "Maybe we'll even let you see the sun before you wither away completely." They chuckled again.

Kazuo looked him straight in the eye while he began to go through earthbending forms. "I'm afraid none of us will be seeing the sun again." As soon as he was done talking, the mine began to shake. Realizing what he was doing, the captain yelled for everyone to fire. But it was too late. While they were enjoying their "victory", Kazuo had been carefully shifting the earth around them. The mass of firebenders surrounded him and launched a simultaneous attack, creating a huge inferno that advanced towards Kazuo from all sides. As the the ceiling above started to completely cave in, he grinned.

* * *

Bending the debris away from the entrance, the former prisoners rushed to leave the tunnel that was quickly collapsing. Upon getting outside, they were greeted by many of the villagers wielding weapons with Taro at the front.

"Seiko!" Dropping his spear, Taro rushed to hug his sullen looking granddaughter. Family members ditched their weapons and embraced for the first time in a long while, everyone cheering and celebrating their reunion. Soon though, it was apparent something was wrong. Taro noticed someone was missing. "Where is my son?"

Koda looked sadly at Seiko, who was standing away from the group. "Kazuo stayed behind to let everyone escape. He caved in the mine in order to save us. With it gone, the Fire Nation has no reason to come back."

Taro opened his mouth to reply but then quickly closed it, shutting his eyes and sighing. "Thinking of others even at the end. He was a hero."

Realizing that these were the same people who didn't want to fight before, Koda questioned Taro. "How did you manage to get all these people here?"

"Well, soon after you left I needed to think so I went for a walk and saw four soldiers running through town. I heard them talking about getting reinforcements because they were under attack. When everyone heard the commotion they were making, the villagers came outside and saw them return with almost thirty new soldiers. It was then everybody knew they all needed to help, otherwise we wouldn't stand a chance. It seems we were too late to take action and it cost us dearly."

Koda frowned and lowered his head. "I'm sorry things turned out this way, Taro. If I had been better maybe things would have been different. I hope you and your family will be alright."

"Do not blame yourself for this, I take solace in the fact that my son died protecting those he loved. It is not your fault Koda, the blame rests solely on the Fire Nation for this tragedy."

"I don't think Seiko feels the same. She hasn't even looked at me since we were down there."

"She is a smart girl, and will realize it in time. But perhaps you should give her some space. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go give Kumi the bad news." Leaning on his spear, the man appeared to have aged ten years in ten minutes.

Looking at all the smiling faces made Koda a little happier. Still feeling like he didn't deserve to join the celebration, Koda began to make his way to the docks. Remembering he was supposed to meet Bato hours ago, Koda took the long way in order to think of an excuse as to why he was out all night. After about an hour of walking as slow as possible, he tripped over a rock that he swore wasn't there a second ago. Just before he fell forward, a small pillar grew out of the earth and held him up.

"Seems your hopeless without me." He saw it was Seiko who had saved him the fall. Koda thanked her as she helped him up.

"It was probably you who moved that rock there in the first place." He mock glared. Then his expression softened. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk to me."

"Maybe." She gave a small grin. "And I just needed some space." Seiko said. "I wanted to thank you. Without your help half my village would still be slaving away in the mine."

"I really didn't do much. It was mostly you who did all the heavy lifting."

Seiko wouldn't let him shy away from praise. "I don't believe that for a second. Without your help taking on those firebenders and protecting me, I would have never been able to free my father and everyone else."

"Thanks Seiko. You know," Koda saw her hair was no longer in a ponytail. " You look really pretty with your hair down."

Blushing, she turned her head to the side and crossed her arms. "Don't think that flattery will get you off easy. You said it yourself, I had to do all the heavy lifting. Next time we meet, you better be able to keep up with me." She said tauntingly with a smirk.

Koda grinned right back. "You won't stand a chance."

* * *

Koda returned to the docks by himself early in the morning. He had managed to find himself a long stick to use as a crutch and bought some medicine for his burns on the way. Seeing Bato waiting for him, he tried to apologize for not returning earlier. "Bato I'm sor-" He was surprised when he was greeted with a hug.

"Don't think I didn't hear about what happened. The entire town was cheering about it." Koda looked down expecting to be yelled at. Bato put his hand on his shoulder. "You did a good thing. These people needed something to cheer about. Your parents will be happy hear all about it, after they yell at you of course." He said with a cheeky smile.

Suddenly not looking forward to reuniting with his parents, "Can't we just keep this between us?" Bato simply laughed.

Having been around him all eleven years of his life, Bato could tell when Koda was being hard on himself. He tried to make him feel better. "That was very dangerous you know, but it was the right thing to do."

"I don't know. Maybe it wasn't. If I hadn't done anything, Seiko's dad wouldn't have had to die."

Bato shook his head. "It sounds like Kazuo made his decision to save his daughter and his people, it wasn't your fault. He decided to make the ultimate sacrifice for the lives of others, and that's the most honorable way to go. Besides, if not for you, all of the others would still be stuck in that mine for who knows how long. You did a good job Koda."

Koda realized Bato could be right. He was just being hard on himself. "I guess you're right. I just wish things had turned out differently." He stood and got into a waterbending form. "And look, my waterbending has improved way more than I thought! Watch this!" Koda attempted to make a large wave rise out of the ocean and instantly freeze, but the wave was barely half the size he wanted and froze much slower.

"Well... that's progress I suppose." Bato said, unimpressed.

"Wait what? It was so much easier last night!" He couldn't understand why his waterbending was suddenly much less powerful.

Bato wasn't amused. "Next time when you brag, try to be able to back it up alright? Otherwise, you just look stupid."

"But I'm not... I wasn't... Ugh!" Koda decided to stop trying to prove himself before he pulled all his hair out.

Bato chuckled, unsure what to make of the scene. "Maybe you can ask Master Pakku, because next stop is the Northern Water Tribe."


End file.
